Johnny's Story
by opEd-girl
Summary: Just how did Johnny Akiba Sasaki manage become a part of the elite Special Operations team Rat Patrol 01?
1. Chapter 1

This story precedes the beginning of MGS4 by a handful of months. I read a lot of posts and comments about how it seemed impossible for someone like Johnny to find his way into Rat Patrol 01. This story attempts to answer how that could happen. I always love hearing from readers who enjoyed or hated my writing, please leave a review, good or bad, I don't mind, i just want to know what you think.

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Johnny Akiba Sasaki. If you asked him why he had joined the United States Military he would have told you it was because he came from a long line of valiant war heros, and he would make his family proud by continuing the tradition. In truth there were a million other places he would rather be besides the military cafeteria eating bland, tasteless stew that never agreed with him. It was hard to hold onto the reason he stayed in the military after the Shadow Moses incident...she rarely crossed his path.

Johnny sat at the rejects table, enduring the occasional spitball and the less than creative name calling. He made the best of his station in life playing card games, calculating their mathematical outcomes using his wearable, and generally being a pariah among the more elite soldiers. He usually finished his lunch quickly so he could spend the few minutes he had to himself somewhere quiet away from jeers and name calling, but today was Wednesday.

"Johnny, come on, you are so lame. Every Wednesday, it's the same thing. One day you will realize the futility of what you are doing." Morris, one of his nerdy comrades prodded him to leave with the rest of the rejects. "We're tired of the spitballs, we'll see you in the quad?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Johnny was already looking past him to the opening door.

"And the moment arrives..." Exasperated, Morris decided to stick around once again to watch just how pathetic someone could become in a matter of moments. Morris hadn't yet found an end to the amount of embarrassment Johnny could subject himself to.

Through the door came a woman. She wore a standard issue sneaking suit and fatigues; there was never a time Johnny had seen her without a holster strapped to her leg. Nothing overtly stated she was a high ranking military officer, some said she hid her status on purpose. The only tell was the way she carried herself, her stone cold eyes, and her formidable demeanor, it was easy to tell who the soldiers were that had seen combat and hadn't been broken by it.

Wednesdays were when Special Operations held their mission briefings. Commander Meryl Silverburgh would often grab lunch in the cafeteria on her way to the conference rooms. It was always the same, she walked in, quickly grabbed something she could hold in one hand and left through the side door; she never backtracked. For maybe a minute or so, Johnny was reminded why he was still in the military. His feelings weren't clear, he didn't know if he admired her as a soldier, or if he just thought she was attractive, it didn't really matter, she was why he kept getting up in the morning.

"She's like one of us, not too good for the cafeteria, she could have her meals delivered like the other officers."

"Yeah, she's one of us..." Morris looked around to the low ranking analysts surrounding their table. "You know, I hear she only made commander because of her uncle." Morris knelt down, patting Johnny's shoulder.

"You don't know what you're talking about. She's kind of a legend you know. I heard she completed a mission with Solid Snake, THE Solid Snake, and managed to survive three sniper rounds – two of them capping her knees!" There was only pure admiration in Johnny's voice.

"Yeah, we're all aware of how much you think she's a bad ass, with those arms how could she not be?" Morris rolled his eyes. "Tell me again how you know the commander?"

Johnny ignored the arm comment, there was no doubt that Meryl was a brick wall, solid, unyielding, with no attempt to hide it. He could remember one time, not long ago, when a new recruit decided it would be a good idea to whistle as she passed by. It didn't take long for her hands to grab his collar, pulling his face close to hers, Johnny wished he could read lips as she whispered something to him. Though the soldier, much broader and taller than she, could use his body weight to muscle her across the floor, he couldn't brake her grip. In the end, the soldier landed hard on top of one of the tables, cracking it down the middle. It was rumored that Meryl had almost been demoted for her actions, though no one wanted to test whether or not she had learned her lesson about self-control.

"We were both stationed at Shadow Moses." Johnny's only claim to fame was that he had been stationed at Shadow Moses, and was there during the nuclear weapons fiasco. He must have told the story a thousand times, to anyone remotely interested, though he usually left out some of the more embarrassing details. Most of the soldiers usually didn't believe that he had ever met Meryl, or even that he had ever been stationed at Shadow Moses – his grandiose story-telling was just one of the ways he had found himself with the rest of the losers.

They were both younger then. Johnny had only seen her as she was getting thrown into one of the prison cells, in that instant, he was taken with her unconventional beauty. She had a way about her. To this day Johnny often wondered whether he had meant to open the wrong cell door or if he really was just a stupid bone-head.

"Yeah, I know, I know...you, at Shadow Moses....I've heard the story." Morris rolled his eyes again. "So how come Meryl doesn't recognize you now?"

"It was a long time ago....and we only met briefly...we weren't even introduced...." Johnny shrugged the question off with embarrassment, he never told anyone the real way he had met her.

Johnny suddenly stopped the trail of excuses, tapping Morris's chest with the back of his hand, pointing a finger to where Meryl had stopped. He was the first to realize she was scanning the room, sizing up the men around her.

"What?" Morris didn't even know what he was pointing at. "Yeah, I saw your girlfriend walk in. So what?"

"Shh, she's going to say something." Perhaps Johnny knew it even before Meryl did.

Pulling her glove off, Meryl placed her fingers in her mouth, letting a deafening whistle blow. It silenced the crowded room instantly. The only sounds were the squeaking of benches as a few soldiers stood to get a better view.

"Who of you know who I am?" Her voice was gruff but unmistakably feminine.

Most soldiers on base who had been there long enough had heard at least something about who Meryl was. Some revered her, others reviled her depending on which stories they had heard first. Either way she was well known. As she looked around gaging the men's responses, her lips curled into a subtle smirk, she could pick out those who thought she was a fraud. "I have been informed that I will be leading a team to infiltrate rouge PMC activity in the Middle East. I need three of you."

The room started to fill with whispers – little huddles of soldiers candidly discussing the opportunity to serve with arguably one of the toughest soldiers on base. Some were tempted by the opportunity to get close to someone related to Lieutenant Campbell. Others were excited about the highly classified mission itself, some flatly turned the offer down.

Through the whispers Johnny stood on his bench, one leg perching on the table top like a sea captain at the helm of a ship. "I volunteer!" He yelled it with the deepest voice he could muster.

"What the hell are you doing?" Morris was more concerned with the large, grizzly men starting to stare at both of them.

The room was quiet once more, and all eyes were focused on Johnny. Even Meryl, crossing her arms and cocking her weight to one side, looked at the unknown soldier standing at the back of the room. Johnny caught her gaze, for a moment it felt like she saw him, she might have even been puzzled by his familiarity, but it was hard to tell.

Then, out of nowhere, a tray flew through the air; it blindsided Johnny, knocking him off the table. He landed hard, flat on his back, the air knocked out of him. The room went up in a rolling laughter that could be heard half way across the base.

Unamused by the childish act, Meryl slapped a letter-sized piece of paper on the wall behind her. "Sign up here." She yelled over the crowd and turned and walked out the door.

"Jeez, are you ok?" Morris held out his hand to help him back to his feet.

Taking the help, straining to catch his breath, Johnny huffed some unexpected words. "I'm signing up."

"Are you nuts? You'll be eaten alive, look around. Just look around. You aren't like these other soldiers, when are you going to get that?" Morris swept away some of the food that had stuck to Johnny's shirt. He grabbed both shoulders and forced him to look at who he would be competing with.

"I don't care." Johnny's determination was inspiring, but it ignored reality.

Morris couldn't help but root for the guy. Johnny always had a tenacity about him; he wasn't afraid to fail and proved it on a daily basis. He waited with Johnny until the crowds had dispersed and the cafeteria was empty. They walked to the crumpled paper hanging by a single corner. The long list of names was intimidating, it seemed like only the toughest soldiers thought they had what it takes to cut it under Meryl's command.

"Johnny, I understand what you're doing, I really do. But this is crazy...this is your last chance to change your mind..." Morris said it abruptly, he just didn't want Johnny to get hurt.

Johnny sighed as he ran his hands through his scruffy blonde hair – it was always longer than regulation would allow. He brought them across his stubbled jaw, extending them to either side of the sign-up sheet. He leaned forward as he read off each of the names. "You're right, this is my last chance."

Morris gave him one last pat on the shoulder and silently walked away, the cafeteria door opened and closed, Johnny was alone.

Slowly, he placed the tip of the pen on the last empty space on the paper. In his hesitation, the ink ran, creating a small circular smudge. Finally, in shaky handwriting, Johnny Akiba Sasaki signed his name.


	2. Chapter 2

It was like a bad dream, except he was awake. He didn't know how he'd overslept. His gear was jostling around his chest, his shirt was unbuttoned and his pants were falling loose because his belt was tightly gripped in his hand. He was running as fast as he could, his lungs burned and the cold morning air made his legs numb.

Up ahead, in one of the many open quad areas he saw the gathering crowd. There were more soldiers than Johnny thought there'd be, about a hundred or so. It looked like they were forming organized rows and starting to take orders.

Johnny managed to lock in all his gear and suit up appropriately before running up to one of the last positions in the last row. He didn't stop himself fast enough and pushed into one of the soldiers a row ahead. The soldier turned, there was a look of destruction on his face. If attention hadn't been called, Johnny would have been in trouble. As every other man saluted in unison, Johnny was finishing pulling his black balaclava over his face, some of his blond hair stuck out through the eye hole. He threw his sunglasses on and took a deep breath. Somehow he had managed to avoid being caught showing up late.

At the front of the group Meryl was silent. Her eyes drifted across the men who had made the mistake of being first in line. "It's good to see such a turn out." She yelled so those in the back could hear. "You all have guts, I like that." Meryl brushed her fiery red bangs from her face as she started to pace. "But there's too many of you. More than I thought would sign up. I can't take you all into trials. So here's what we're going to do." She stopped at the center of the group, unclipping her chest harness, dropping her gear to the floor. "50 push-ups, 50 squats, until half of you quit. Do you get me?"

Instantly the crowd of soldiers yelled a solid "Yes! Commander! We get you!" Johnny, not hip to the call and answer, faked his way through.

Meryl gave a hand signal, and what seemed like out of thin air one of the other SpecialOps teams flanked each side of the group. The team created fear, even among those recruits that thought they were the toughest. SpecialOps wore all black, their expressions hidden underneath face camo or goggles and balaclavas. They had full gear including the custom assault rifles only issued to the elite military groups.

"These are my friends." She swept her hand across the field, introducing her brethren. "They will help me sort you out. If you stop, you've quit." Meryl took one last look around. "Go."

Once again with precise unity the group of 100 dropped to their hands, punching out push-ups. Johnny, always slightly out of sync, tried his best to stay in rhythm with the group. During his years in the corps, Johnny had grown accustomed to push-ups. He was lighter than the more muscular soldiers, which was an advantage; he had less weight to lift.

The group hit 50 very quickly and moved on to the set of squats. The first thing Johnny noticed as he started to sit to the ground was that Meryl was doing the sets too. From all that he had observed over the years, Johnny wagered she was proving some sort of point. It seemed from the way some of the stories were told, she was obsessed with proving her worth, and what better way than to pass the same tests her teammates would have to pass.

Minutes turned to hours, what had started as crisp, sharp movements were now labored and slow, some of what the men were doing might not even pass as push-ups and squats, though they only quit if they stopped trying. Johnny's arms felt like they were filled with slivers of glass that were crunching and grinding in his shoulder sockets. He couldn't keep his back straight anymore, and his belly touched the ground on every rep. His only solace was that he wasn't the only one, even Meryl's perfect form had wavered into a sloppy mess. Johnny had been keeping track of the soldiers who had given up or who were caught resting. Only ten more soldiers needed to quit for this hell to be over. What was once morning had quickly changed to afternoon; what was once a brisk sunny day turned chilled and rainy. The remaining soldiers had since given up staying in unison, some were squatting others were doing push-ups. The groans were becoming more frequent. Muscle spasms and cramps were starting to make the men fall fast. Johnny couldn't look around anymore, he was too tired to lift his head, but there was no mistaking the scream of pain caused by a ripping muscle, 2 to go.

Johnny honestly didn't know how much longer he could endure this torture. The rain was falling hard, it was cold, his fingers were numb and blistered, he was drenched and chaffed. The dehydration was starting to cause his legs to cramp, his hamstring twitched readying to spasm into a rock hard ball of muscle. He just had to hold out a bit longer, he willed his muscles to stay loose. Each time he was about to give in, when he didn't think his hands could take another blister, when he thought his shoulders would rip apart, when he didn't think he could breath anymore, that's when he would pick out her voice among the groans and yells. He could hear her straining to continue, she was working through pain just like the rest of them. There would be an occasional "Pick it up!" or "Come on!" probably directed at herself, though Johnny felt like she was speaking only to him. She was what gave him the will to continue, even with no strength left. Johnny stood to start squatting again.

Meryl had just started her round of squats too. She clasped her hands behind her head and kicked her legs out to shoulder width. As she bent down, Johnny could see a wince of pain cross her face, her eyes squinted and her left knee twitched, just slightly. At the bottom of the bend, she paused for a passing moment, and then let out a grimacing sound, pressing back up, only to start the motion all over again. She was drenched and muddy, rain drops bounced off her broad forearms and steam could be seen rising from her face and chest. Johnny could almost forget his own pain while watching her, she was strong, but it was clear that determination was the only thing left keeping her standing. With each additional repetition, her grunts echoed her muscle fatigue, her joint damage, her mental anguish – Johnny could hear it in his own groans – it was the sound of pain. While the rest of the soldiers were caught up in their own personal struggle to keep going, Johnny felt like he had teamed up, like he wasn't alone, it was like the two of them were in it together. There was some insane part of him that was truly content at that moment.

As Johnny bent down with Meryl once more, while taking that slight pause at the bottom, he saw it happen. Her knee buckled on the way back up, her balance wavered, she fought to keep her body on top of the one good leg she had left. A sound like none Johnny had ever heard escaped her mouth. He shot looks to the SpecialOps soldiers, some turning to see whether she would fall. Just as all of this was happening another soldier collapsed leaving only one more to quit before this crazy exercise in masochism would end.

It seemed that many others were keeping track of that precious number. A flurry of strained groans could be heard throughout the group. Meryl had managed to sit back into another squat, but her one good leg just didn't have the strength to lift her body weight anymore, she strained, her body going no where. She cried out, it was the sound of a women, her armor stripped bare. There was so little left to endure, Johnny couldn't contain himself.

"Do it!" He yelled as he dropped to start his push-ups. "Do it! Stand up! Stand up!" He yelled out as loud as his winded breath would let him.

And then, to Johnny's right, the last soldier needed to end the drill dropped to his side, grasping his shoulder, cursing the heavens. A rifle fired into the air, signaling the exercise was over. Everyone dropped to their knees or collapsed flat to the ground, the sound of whimpering and pleas to God echoed across the quad. Johnny had fallen to his stomach, his face sitting in a shallow puddle of mud. Dirty water found its way into his mouth as he fought to inhale enough air to stay conscious.

It wasn't long before the soldiers regained their composure, the SOP system was starting to regulate their pain sensitivity and fatigue, it even helped the healing process accelerate. Johnny had no such advantage. As other soldiers made it to their knees, he was choking down the excruciating pain of muscle spasms.

Face still sitting in mud, boots came into view. "Get up soldier." Her voice was back to that low, raspy tone.

Johnny cocked his arms, pressing with everything he had left, which was nothing. He couldn't obey the command. He felt hands grab his arms, lifting him to his feet. Two of the SpecialOps held him upright, his head hung low, his brow furled, his chest still heaving at a frenzied rate. Meryl reached to his face, removing his sunglasses, allowing her to stare him down. Though the nanomachines had started to normalize her body responses, she was still wincing with pain. A SpecialOps soldier had her arm draped over his neck, holding her steady; she was still favoring her good leg. She leaned close, very close; Johnny could feel her breath run across his face; he could see the white fog she exhaled moving past him. He watched rain stream down her forehead, starting from the headband she wore, running to the bridge of her nose, down her cheeks, collecting at her chin and falling to the ground. Johnny realized she was sizing him up – she was making some sort of internal decision about him.

"I'm going to be on your team, commander." His words came out through the gasps for breath, not louder than a whisper. He didn't break her stone-cold stare.

He saw it, for a split second, and just slightly, he saw it. Her lip curled upward. She smiled at the comment, and it was genuine. "Not if you're late again." She put his sunglasses back on his face and he was dropped to his knees. She and the SpecialOps team started to walk away. Without turning around she yelled over her shoulder "I expect to see all of you tomorrow, same time, same place." And with that they filled an awaiting vehicle and drove out of sight.

He couldn't move, he didn't know how he was going to make it back to the barracks, nor was he going to be in any condition to do any sort of training tomorrow, but none of that mattered right now. Johnny looked to the dark looming sky. Water poured from the rolling clouds pecking at his face and bouncing off his shades. Johnny smiled as he collapsed backward, losing consciousness – that too, didn't matter – his last chance was paying off.


	3. Chapter 3

It was still predawn. The sun hadn't started to burn off the rain from yesterday, everything was still damp and cold. Johnny was in a lot of pain, but he could have been much worse off.

He never did thank his friends, he was too busy holding back screams of pain as they carried him back to the barracks. Johnny must have been passed out for at least an hour before they found him curled on his side, his body frozen in the fetal position. His muscles had been so overworked and so strained that pulling his limbs straight was like trying to tear into a phonebook.

Not only did they bring him back, but they washed him up and put dry clothing on him. They stole all sorts of topical ointments from the medical facility – some that dulled pain, others that were supposed to heal muscles. Johnny didn't have the luxury of being embarrassed as his friends rubbed out knots and pulls, it hurt too much. Morris said they'd get him ready for the next day and they kept their word – Johnny was walking back to the quad for more of the torture he suffered the day before – something he wouldn't have been able to do without their help.

There were a handful of other soldiers stretching and walking around the quad area trying to shake off the cold. Johnny would have joined in, but just standing was taking an extreme amount of energy to endure.

Soldiers started to fill in fast during the last moments before roll call. Johnny looked around, it seemed that there was a large number of men who had passed yesterday's test but decided not to return. Johnny smiled as he pulled his balaclava over his face, sliding on his shades to complete the mask. Perhaps he was more soldier than everyone had made him out to be.

"Alright men," Out from the shadows, an especially large SpecialOps soldiers appeared. "We're going to go for a little run."

This was it, Johnny didn't know how he was going to do it, he could hardly walk, let along run. Adrenaline started to pump through his veins, it made his hands tremble and his body sweat, but it wasn't enough to numb his muscles. This was it. Soldiers around him started to get set, readying for the flight across the quad.

"Halt!" From one of the nearby buildings a soldier came running up to the SpecialOps leader. The two had a whispered conversation.

"Well, it seems the commander has different plans for you today. Eh, pity....Right face! March!"

Johnny let out a sigh that made a few heads turn. His last chance really was paying off. It looked as though they were headed into one of the buildings. He didn't know what for, but it wouldn't be for ops training, there were only conference rooms and offices there.

The group was led into a small makeshift classroom. Long rows of tables lined with chairs were crammed in. Meryl was already sitting in the front row closest to the window. She was leaning back, hands hooked behind her head, legs perched on the table top.

Johnny, not wanting to appear to eager, found his way to the seat directly behind her. She didn't acknowledge any of the soldiers taking their seats, she just sat idly, claiming the space around her. Johnny couldn't help but stare, even if it was just the back of her head, he never got to be this close unnoticed, he felt like he was spying on her, though he knew the thought was ridiculous.

It appeared as though they would be tested on tactics theory aptitude. An unsoldier-like man stood at the head of the class, he passed out paper exams and marked his watch. Everyone, including Meryl, started writing down answers.

Mathematics and probabilities were something Johnny never needed to study, he could visualize any problem, of any complexity, like it was a photo in a frame; he could tip it to shield it from glare and bring it close to examine the details. Math was comfortably familiar to Johnny; it was black and white, and it never lied. Johnny always had a hard time reading people the way others took for granted. It made it difficult to establish friendships, it made it awkward to talk with women, it made his life confusing. But math – math was easy – it was clear and concise.

Flipping through the seemingly endless amount of pages Johnny surmised this test was supposed to be incredibly difficult and would occupy most of the day. Even so, Johnny had finished it, placing his pencil down as everyone else still struggled halfway through. Leaning his chin on his hand, protected behind his mirrored shades, he watched the fury of pencils and erasers. It was nice to be at the head of the race watching other try to catch up. A smile hidden beneath his dark mask crossed his face.

As Johnny's eyes wandered the room they stopped in front of him. He watched Meryl write. She was hunched forward, her elbows jutting out. Johnny ventured a guess as to what her handwriting looked like – probably chicken-scratch like his – though perhaps he only thought that so they would have it in common. Johnny couldn't help but trace the lines of her body with his eyes. He followed the sharp definition of her shoulders downward. He caught a glimpse of skin peaking out where Meryl's sneaking suit top met her pants. He didn't know why, there wasn't anything inappropriate about it, but Johnny found the nape of Meryl's back irresistible. He looked forward to each time she shifted her position, revealing just a bit more skin as the back of her shirt rode up.

He closed his eyes, sinking his head into his hand; he tried to imagine touching that little bit of skin and how soft it might be. His fantasies were never more elaborate than thoughts like that. He was more modest than he wanted to be, it was always the simple things that turned him on the most.

Johnny was content, he had aced the test, the classroom was warm, he was settled and comfortable, and even had some time to daydream. With his eyes closed, he lost track of time and dozed off.

Johnny didn't know how long he'd been out, but he was rudely awakened by the tabletop smacking his face. He raised his head up, looking to the ceiling, one hand grasping his nose. There was a metallic taste in the back of his throat, his nose was definitely bleeding; he wondered if everyone else could see it. As his head came back down he pieced together what had happened. His other wrist was inside Meryl's tight grip. She had yanked his hand out from underneath his chin letting gravity dole out some punishment. Angry couldn't begin to describe how she looked. In a sudden movement, Meryl threw Johnny's arm back at him, snatching his test paper from the desk.

"We're not here to nap..." The words came from her quietly, though they were anything but subtle.

It seemed Johnny hadn't been dreaming very long. The way the other soldiers looked, this situation had interrupted them mid-test.

Meryl handed the paper to the proctor. He flipped through the pages in a cursory fashion. "You've finished the whole test?" He asked it like a question, but he didn't wait for a response.

The proctor walked to a desk at the front of the room and pulled out what could only be an answer key. With a quick glance at each question, he adjusted his glasses, placed the paper down and folded his hands over it. With a stunned expression he looked at Johnny. "You finished the whole test and only missed one problem..."

Johnny, who was still holding his nose cut him off mid-sentence. "If you're talking about number 86, I didn't get it wrong." His voice was muffled and nasally.

Confused the proctor reexamined the papers. How could this soldier even know what problem he was talking about? All eyes turned to look at the befuddled man sitting at the front of the class.

"The theorem presented is impossible, read the corrected version I wrote, you'll see where you went wrong..." Johnny leaned his head back again, his nose was throbbing and he could feel moisture building around his mouth and chin. He wondered if he would have two black-eyes in the morning.

Some soldiers turned to look at Johnny, others skipped ahead in their test booklets to see the impossible problem. Meryl turned to face her test. As she flipped through the pages, it became clear she hadn't even reached the problem in question.

She climbed over the tabletop, promptly walking to where the proctor sat. Facing away from the awaiting men, she leaned her hands on the table, whispering back and forth with the man. As the proctor spoke to her, she turned her head, taking a glimpse of the soldier who had defeated what was suppose to be an impossible test.

Johnny looked back at her. He let go of his nose and pulled his shades away making it known that he was watching her. Meryl turned back to finish her conversation.

After what seemed like an eternity, Meryl turned around, leaning back on the desk, she crossed her arms and exhaled a deep breath. "The test is over, pass your papers to the front." The words were reluctant. "Today's exercise is over, I expect everyone to be back tomorrow ready for combat."

Complaints about still having time left to complete the test could be heard throughout the room. Johnny felt a shove come from behind. Even in his triumph, he was still managing to piss off everyone. "Nice one, jackass..." was the outgoing remark as the classroom emptied.

Always the last one out, Johnny stood to leave. Meryl, still leaning on the desk at the front of the room, caught Johnny off guard. "Did you cheat?" She looked him up and down like he was a piece of meat, her stare icy cold.

"No, commander." Johnny pulled off his balaclava, wiping drying blood from under his nose with the back of his hand. Johnny could feel his brow pressing downward, he didn't like being called a cheater.

Meryl nodded, turning her head to look out the window. "So, what? Are you some kind of genius?" She seemed to believe his answer.

"No." He meant it, he had never thought of himself in terms like that.

Meryl turned back to look at him, waiting for more of a response than that.

"I just... I just see the numbers, ok?" Johnny looked down as he wiped his nose again. He didn't like this conversation, it made him feel like some sort of circus act.

"And you can just do it in your head like that?"

"Yeah." Johnny's retort almost cut Meryl's question short.

"Hmm." Meryl nodded again. There was a long pause. "You should put some ice on that." She said it in passing as she walked out the door.

Johnny sat back down in his chair, he had passed another one of Meryl's tests, and it wasn't on paper. He had to smile at the situation, he just had his first real conversation with the woman he idolized, and his face was stained with blood, so much for first impressions...

Johnny wiped his nose once more, looking at the blood left on the back of hand. He sat for a few moments longer, savoring his victory, before walking back to the barracks to ready himself for what would be thrown at him next.

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I think there's going to be 2 more chapters. I would love to know what you think, even if you think it's crap :-)


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